


red and gold

by SuperStellar



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:55:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25146571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperStellar/pseuds/SuperStellar
Summary: Soul words are a symbol of love, and Leon's covered in them.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 16
Kudos: 192





	red and gold

No one’s quite sure how or why soul words appeared on one’s skin. It’s a mystery of the ages, and honestly, most people are focused on more pressing research issues, like medical or technological advancement. Something harmless like soul words, which would fade if so desired? There was no money in it, and the mystery made it all the more romantic.

That’s not to say that all soul words were romantic. In fact, in contrast to the romantic red, golden words were all platonic. Declarations of love that weren’t romantic would be emblazoned across one’s skin in gleaming gold for the word to see. _I am loved,_ they would say to the world, _and it is as valuable as romance_.

Leon had more than his fair share of gold soul words. His mum, for one, constantly left him with tiny _I love you_ ’s up and down his calves. He gets a new one every phone call home, and he’s glad that soul words _do_ fade or else he’d be completely covered. Hop’s given him a bunch, but the one he’s most proud of, the one that he refuses to let fade, is written along a collar bone. It reads, _you’re my hero, Lee,_ in Hop’s even, childish scrawl that he’s since grown out of _._

Even Sonia, his childhood best friend and former rival, has left words on his skin. Their relationship may be rocky, but he treasures the gold words on his hip, the first and only words he got from her: _you’ll be the best Champion that Galar has ever seen._ He’s embarrassed about the words he’s left on Sonia though, and he imagines that she’s let them all fade. The latest ones seem to be, _Well, I like the way she cooks_ , and he got such a glare from her when she realized what was being scrawled across her forearm.

And it’s true that he carelessly leaves his mark across all his friends. Leon’s always loved freely and easily. Kabu’s got a tiny, _That was a Champion battle!_ scrawled on the back of his hand. His words on Bea read, _I’m looking forward to seeing you grow,_ circling her ankle. All the gym leaders have something from him, and they wear it proudly. Leon’s so free with his words (his heart) that they appear during exhibition matches, the golden script etching themselves across skin in real time, leaving both combatants laughing.

It’s fitting, though. Leon is the perfect image of a King – though Galar hasn’t had one of those for ages. He’s got the purple hair, so closely linked to royalty, and the bronze skin covered in shining gold words makes him look positively regal. He’s well loved and loves freely, as a king should. Is it any wonder that he’s the most popular Champion that Galar’s ever had?

It’s no surprise, then, that when Leon wakes up in the hospital after the Darkest Day, after Eternatus, after _everything,_ that he finds himself covered in brand new gold words. They’re all variations on a theme: _you had me so worried,_ or _thank you,_ or _please don’t do that ever again._ As he’s weaned off the painkillers, the people who’ve left these marks on him filter in to visit and point out their marks.

Leon’s cheered by all his visitors, but there’s a clear hole in his heart from the one person who doesn’t make the trek: Raihan.

They’d been friends – _best friends –_ for over a decade at this point. They traded little golden words practically every time they met. Was it any wonder that he noticed the absence of Raihan almost immediately? He was on a lot of painkillers, but not so much that he’d not be aware that his rival didn’t want to see him after he was injured. That was partially the reason he’d made such a fuss about getting out of the hospital and getting the Champion Match over with. Once he won again, he could ask Raihan how he’d disappointed him.

But then he lost.

Leon, the Unbeatable Champion, had _lost._

Maybe that was why Raihan was avoiding him. First, he couldn’t even stop Eternatus. Then… he lost. To someone who wasn’t even his rival, his best friend, the one person in the world that Leon thought would be able to best him.

Maybe he deserved it.

Leon didn’t know how much Raihan mattered to him until he was no longer in his life. It felt like his heart had been torn out, and he didn’t even know what he did to push Raihan away. It… was difficult to accept that he’d lost a friend and had no idea what he’d done. And only in this loss did he realize that… perhaps he felt a little differently about Raihan than he originally thought.

And wasn’t that a revelation? Leon discovers his love for Raihan is a bit less than platonic, a bit more than platonic, only when he’s been left by the wayside. Maybe Raihan saw this part of him and wanted to let Leon down gently. Maybe he was disgusted. Maybe he never even liked Leon in the first place.

But Leon can’t stand to mope forever. He needed to move forward, to fix this rift between them, or at least get some closure.

So, Leon does as he always does: challenge Raihan to a Pokémon battle.

Luckily, Raihan accepts. It’s a private match, tucked away at the top of his burgeoning Battle Tower, before it’s open to the public. Before anyone else even knows it’s a Battle Tower outside of the construction crew. Raihan’s the first. Raihan’s always the first in Leon’s heart, as he’s discovered recently.

Their Pokémon battle is… strained. Raihan, usually so talkative, so playful, doesn’t say a single word. Leon almost cries.

When Leon wins, Raihan tries to leave immediately, but he sends Charizard to block the way.

“Raihan… tell me what I did wrong,” he pleads, “Why you won’t talk to me anymore?”

Raihan’s staring at him, shock and hurt in his eyes.

“Please, I… want to fix it.” Leon’s not above begging. He can feel tears filling his eyes, but wills them away. “Why won’t you say anything to me?”

Raihan opens his mouth, and Leon can feel hope start to build in his chest. Raihan closes his eyes and looks away. The hope in Leon's chest stutters, and then—

“I’d only put red words on you now.”

Leon’s world tilts. He’s the speechless one now. The pause goes on long enough that he can feel these words being etched onto his thigh, and he curses his pants, that he can’t check the words right away.

“I only realized when I saw you at the Tower Summit and you were lying there, and—I didn't even know if you were still alive and it felt like a part of me had died along with you—”

Leon runs over and grabs Raihan, pulls him into a gripping hug, holds him fast. “Raihan,” he says, looking straight up into Raihan’s beautiful, beautiful eyes, “I love you too.”

And the surprise on Raihan’s face blooming into unadulterated joy as he feels the words form on his skin, sees the red blooming on the palm of his hand, Leon’s slanted cursive following the love line, is a memory that Leon will treasure forever.


End file.
